App.net: A paid real-time social platform that shouldn't seem as crazy as it does

App.net is to social media what Amazon Web Services is to the rest of the web

Can you imagine a service like Twitter without advertising, spammers and URL shorteners? Without clunky official clients, and without hostility towards the third-party ecosystem? The 12 strong team at App.net can, and they think enough people are willing to pay for such a service to make it work.

Instead of using Kickstarter to raise the required $500,000, the team built its own crowd-funding system and is currently 68% of the way to the goal with three days left on the clock, thanks to over 4,800 backers.

Tim originally came to Gizmag as a developer, much to the dismay of anyone who had to maintain, build on, or rewrite his code. After wearing every other hat that didn't have a head for it, he became CEO in 2010. Outside Gizmag, he trains Muay Thai and plays too much Destiny.

Chicken/egg. I am not going to join something until enough people join it, I certainly am not going to pay for something that no one is using. I think this product could develop a cult like status, but marketing, spam and what not will make its way into it. I'll stick to Facebook for now.

Michael Mantion

So they are basically cloning the Facebook news feed and oauth/permissions system?

As an app publisher, Facebook is free to integrate with; app.net charges money. Facebook has many users looking at the news feed; these guys have few users, and little incentive to look at the essentially app/game only feed. Even twitter provides oauth and story publishing, and has even more eyeballs to encourage people to try your app.

I can't see what theses guys are offering thats at all of value to a developer; and they are charging for it!